This $$^@# does not write itself

Last night I finished what I am calling a rehearsal draft of the play.  Most of it is complete, but a few scenes remain to be worked out in rehearsal.  I like to leave some things open so the kids continue to feel as if the play is theirs.  In truth it is part them part me.  Throughout the writing process, which entailed me locking myself in my house for 5 days during the Thanksgiving break, doing nothing but writing, reading and thinking about the project, I was  deeply influenced by the work the ensemble had done over the 2 months of our devising work  (recalling movement sequences they had created)  but would also forget it and let the play develop naturally as I wrote it.  Some scenes were based on their devising, but some of it grew entirely from the writing process.
Today I will get to school early, make about 15 copies of the 40 page script, and we will read it aloud.  It should take 2 days of reading.  After that I will spend a few days revising based on what I hear and the students input and we will begin casting and rehearsals next week.
Two things about the title of this blog entry. One:  I have a colleague, a drama teacher at another school, who told me that writing plays was easy:  once you have  character's and their wants decided on you place an obstacle in their path, and the play just develops.  Two: I saw a t-shirt in a local shop:  a picture of Shakespeare, with the words:  This shit writes itself.   Well, after many weeks of sweating through the ideas of the play and a solid 5 days of nothing but writing I have to say:  it ain't true.  This was hard.  Maybe my friend and Shakespeare know something I don't, but from my experience trying to take ideas created and developed by young people, and meld it into a coherent, enjoyable, funny and meaningful theatrical piece known as a play, took a hell of a lot of time and focus.  It was far from easy, and it sure didn't write itself.  I'm just sayin'.
Let's hope the kids like it today.